SOUND ON SOUND
If you constantly find yourself playing the same old chord shapes, then the rather nifty Australian Chordwizard...
The Blue Tube preamp accepts both mic and instrument inputs, and lets you add as much tube warmth as you like using real valve circuitry.
Can Steinberg's professional recording package make an impact in the Pro Tools-dominated Macintosh market? Sam Inglis finds out.
Yamaha's RS7000 is a groovebox with a difference. Incorporating a sequencer, sampler and a synth, it claims to offer everything you might need for modern music production.
For 10 years, Yamaha's compact QY 'walkstations' have offered an impressive set of tools for the mobile MIDI musician. Nicholas Rowland checks out the latest, which adds guitar and vocal processing.
Software instruments are now becoming commonplace, but it's still an ambitious software developer who attempts to model an entire studio.
A new wave of dedicated DSP cards is helping computer musicians boost their plug-in power. The latest to appear is Universal Audio's UAD1, which offers recreations of vintage compressors as well as a high-quality reverb.
In these days of virtual instruments and fully featured software sequencers, why should you even consider spending £2000 on a cumbersome hardware synth workstation? If the workstation is as well thought-out as Yamaha's new Motif, perhaps you should.
TL Audio's successful Fat 1 stereo compressor now has a new sibling with its own built-in mic preamp. Paul White delivers the SOS verdict.
The inherent non-linearities and distortions of analogue equipment are sometimes sorely missed in this digital age. Empirical Labs offer their new FATSO Jr as a solution.
Eventide's new entry-level unit brings their high-end algorithms within reach of the serious home studio owner.
Software samplers are not new, but until now they have only existed as stand-alone applications or sequencer-specific plug-ins. Paul Sellars investigates Steinberg's HALion, which offers close integration with Cubase VST, but can also be used as a VST-format plug-in from other sequencers.
Steinberg's new Houston hardware controller certainly looks space-age, but is it a small step or a giant leap for the 21st-century computer musician? Martin Walker takes his protein pills and puts his helmet on...
Soundcraft's new Spirit M-series mixers combine analogue simplicity with a useful digital output. Paul White puts the M8 to the test.
In the second instalment of this two-part retro, Gordon Reid recalls FM's finest hour, and describes the heyday of what was perhaps the most successful family of synthesizers ever developed.